1966 custom camper & alaskan camper survivor

[murdoc]

The only really noticeable damage to the outside body, a little bump and push while backing up some years ago..

[murdoc]

[murdoc]

Was the factory really this sloppy when painting these trucks? What am I seeing here?

[Clyde65]

wow! that is perfect! Id buy that!

[aggie91]

Man that one is nice. Did you get it?

[murdoc]

I bought it about a month ago, but just recently had it towed to my shop (5-15-15). There was a little bit of trouble locating the title on the part of the seller, so we had to wait for a new one to get issued to him so we could complete the sale.

Plans are to remove the camper so I can address the water damage and wood rot, which is minor, and get it 100% operational. While the camper is off, a very careful, slow detailing of the entire truck. The motor looks promising, motor turns, oil is clean, and might just need minor work done to get it running again.

Initially planned to pull the motor and do a LS conversion, but I think this is too original and intact for any modifications. I will be keeping it all original for now. Save the LS conversion for a SWB C-10 instead, one thats already been worked over by a couple other PO's.

I have no idea if the odometer has rolled over already, judging from the lack of wear on the clutch and brake pedals. If it has (and how could I ever really find out?) i would wager that the majority of the miles were highway miles.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy the pics and I will try to keep posting more. Sorry for the huge pic files, I hope it doesn't lag anyone down too much.

[oem4me]

Yes, the factory was that sloppy. if you look carefully around the perimeter of the bed wood, you might see evidence of a heavy paper mask that was stapled down over the black deck for painting body color. This only shows on the most undisturbed examples. Look for left-over staples, I'll bet you'll find some.

[duallyjams]

what a great truck to buy congrats

[TJ's Chevy]

What motor does it have in it? Glad your leaving it original.

[sodly]

Love that undisturbed bed!

[Jeff La]

Really nice truck, Glad you found it and saved it.

[C/10 King]

Very cool!

[murdoc]

Thanks for the feedback.

OEM, I did find about 4 staples in the bed wood in the limited space available to look. I was thinking it might have been placed there by the previous owner for some unknown reason. I am pretty excited to get the camper off now. I will continue to post pics if people show interest.

The motor is a 292, and from the looks of it, still has quite a bit of original paint on it. The battery cables look original to me too. Original battery hold down hardware too.






Thought this was interesting. Senior citizen step?





I removed it because it looks like it is beginning to buckle a bit of the door at the base and outside skin area when people swing the door open fast. Thought it was a pretty neat addition though.

[TJ's Chevy]

That's cool! The 292 is a darn good engine. Have 3 myself and am proud. One stock..one with some goodies and one that has been modified. lol

[murdoc]

Original battery cables and connectors?









the paint on the oil cap looks pretty promising...

[argonaut]

Sweet score! I like it!

[oem4me]

Look closely at the front end paint and grill, and also the windshield for evidence of 112,000 miles of rock and sand chips. I'm gonna go ahead and say those places probably show about one tenth of that wear. You know what that means.
Oh yeah, did we see pics of behind the seat? Build sheet in the seat springs? Cardboard tank cover intact?

[pimpston65]

can you take a close of the spark plug wires markers and the radiator cap???

[murdoc]

[oem4me]

Hmmm, ... hard to say on the paint chips with all the dirt and weathered-ness (new word) lol. Ok, what about cracks at the steering wheel hub and paint wear on the rim? 112k on a 3/4 ton without power steering should show some good cracks down at the base of the spokes.

[jdl71]

If you click on one of his pics and go to his photobucket album there are a lot more pictures, including a good one of the steering wheel. I'm also gonna guess that that camper has not been off that bed since 1966. I also don't see 112000 miles of wear on the seat. I'm no expert by any means but I don't think the odometer has rolled over. I believe that truck was bought just to put that camper on and was only driven for summer vacations or whatever. Probably parked in the late 70's, early 80's maybe by the looks of the bias ply tires still on it. Do you have any of the back story of the truck? Would be very interesting to hear if you do.

[murdoc]

Good observations guys. A lot of stuff said here that I wouldn't have even thought to consider. From my experience with these original deluxe seats, (I've owned 4 personally) if they've received a lot of in and out use, the foam is smashed down, the springs are broken or rusty, and the fabric is very rough. The seat has none of those characteristics.

When I get back to the shop tomorrow, I will take pictures of the spark plugs, spark plug wires, and later on down the road do a compression test. Perhaps that might shine some more light on the condition of the motor.

In either case, I'm very impressed by the paint. Although it is oxidized, it buffs out very nicely without much effort. It still has quite a bit of a shine to it as well. I look forward to getting it cleaned up and running.

Thanks again everybody for your input!

[nbrfd007]

Wow! Great truck!

[jdl71]

I don't know what you paid for this, and I don't want to but I think you've got something pretty special and likely more so than you thought when you bought it. I may be imagining things but I thought you posted some pics of this either when you were looking at it or had just bought it and I thought you were mainly looking for a Custom Camper, not necessarily a 12,000 mile original truck. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Either way this one is a gem for sure.

[canadian_diesel1964]

Man I'd go camping in it ...its awesome